Wade Womack and Alisa Looney stand in front of their Bend home and studio, with one of Alisa’s award winning public sculptures, Heart Connection, which was inspired by the entwined heart motif that Wade originally designed for their wedding rings.
Oregon Artists Alisa Looney, and Wade Womack have been creating art together in the Northwest for over 30 years. They grew up in opposite ends of their native state of Idaho, and met in in the middle in the Art Department of Boise State University. They have collaborated in art and life ever since. Recently relocated from Portland, they now call Bend their home, and are loving every minute of it! They have opened riverARTadventures studio, where they create original sculpture, prints and jewelry, and teach classes in drawing, woodblock printing and enamel (glass) on steel.
Best known for her award winning outdoor sculptures, Alisa Looney has exhibited in the U.S. and Canada. Her work is in a multitude of private and public collections, including Maryhill Museum of Art in Goldendale, WA, and several U.S. cities in the Northwestern states of Oregon, Idaho and Washington. She expresses her ideas through metal sculpture, dance, painting and enameling. She fell in love with metal arts as a silver smith in her early years, received her BFA in Design from Boise State University in 1983 and began welding in 1998. Alisa returned to Idaho in 2010 to study with enamellist and BSU Professor Emeritus, John Killmaster, which has allowed her to merge sculpture design and narrative enamels into what she considers her most precious work to date. With John’s blessing, Alisa teaches these enameling techniques at riverARTadventures studio in Bend, and is currently developing online classes for enamellists near and far. alisalooney.com
Wade Womack studied design and printmaking at BSU, receiving his BA in 1984. He works primarily with the reduction wood block printing technique. After 30 years as a printer and master framer, Wade is applying his knowledge of craft to pieces he calls “Total Art”, which engage multiple senses: visual, auditory, experiential and time based, to bring a deeper appreciation of our environment and that which surrounds us. He feels art is a tool of expression. “I want the art to be unified in expressing an idea, a story. The line work, color, subject matter, all exist to express the idea. I want to effect the viewer in every way possible… intellectually… emotionally… physically… subconsciously. ” Wade teaches woodblock printing and drawing at riverARTadventures studio in Bend. wadewomack.com